2. Why to know question types?
Learning question types will help you see the
tricks that the test is trying to use to confuse you.
You don’t have to memorize them. All you have
to do is practice them a lot.
When you practice and analyze one question
type long enough you will start seeing the whole
structure around which the question is based on.
3. 1. Gist content- Main Idea
◦ These types of questions contain phrases like
“mainly about” and “mainly discussing”
◦ Always the first question if it is present
◦ Sometimes it can be asked of you to choose 2
option
◦ Sometimes the topic is mentioned at the very
beginning, sometimes it is not mentioned and
you have to figure it out by yourself.
◦ Eliminate the choices that refer to small portions
of the listening
4. 2. Gist purpose – Main Reason
• These types of questions ask you about why did
the student come to the professor (or someone
else)
• Always the first question if it is present
• Sometimes it can be asked of you to choose 2
options
• The purpose of a student coming to that person is
usually mentioned at the very beginning of the
conversations.
5. 3. Detail Question (the most common)
◦ These types of questions include phrases like
“according to”, “what is”, “who is”
◦ The question is not about a minor detail
◦ Answer is clearly stated in the listening
◦ Listen for key terms
◦ Do not choose an answer just because it
contains some words that were used in the
listening
6. 4. Understanding the speaker’s attitude
◦ Asks about understanding the speaker’s feelings
◦ They include phrases like “what is the professor’s
attitude…”, “what does the student think
about…” and etc.
◦ Listen for the tone of the speaker
◦ Ask yourself what emotion does the tone
indicate
7. 5. Understanding the function
◦ Asks you to identify the meaning of a statement in
a given context
◦ They include phrases like “what does the professor
mean when he says…”, “why does the student
say…”
◦ Always answer to the question based on the
context in which they are placed
◦ When you are listening to the passage, ask
yourself why something is being mentioned
8. 6. Making inferences
• Asks you about meaning of something
that is not stated directly
• Include phrases such as: “What does the
professor imply when he says…”, “What
can be inferred…” and etc.
10. 7. Understanding organization
◦ Asks you about the relation between two
portions of the passage
◦ Include phrases such as “why does the
professor mention”, “why does the professor
discuss”.
◦ Mostly asks about why an example was
provided by the professor
◦ Listen for the transition words such as, “for
example”, “next”, “as a result” and etc.
11. 8. Connecting content
◦ Asks about relationships among ideas in the
lecture
◦ May require you to fill in a chart or a table
◦ Sometimes can ask you to choose more than 2
answers
